2121: Future Couple
by Elliot Pole
Summary: The Diffys come back to pick up Curtis, and then decide to give Keely the option to come with them to 2121 or not. Rated T for a reason.


**2121: Future Couple**

**Chapter One**

Phil was in the Diffys' garage after noon on the day his family planned to return to their century. He stood facing a holographic version of his best friend in the world, practicing what he'd say to her.

"Keely, I know this is sudden…but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind going with me to the year 2121."

Pim laughed at Phil's pronouncement. "That's how you're going to convince her to come to the future with you?"

"Not like I can appear near her with a dragon."

"Why not? Chicks dig dragons."

"Says a girl who wants to dominate the world."

"Really, if you asked Keely to fly on a dragon with you rather than a skyak, her heart would have been yours eons ago."

"Sure, sure, Pim. And our whole family would be in prison for dragonnapping."

The Diffys had come back to 2006 to pick up the caveman Curtis, who though highly functional, was as much a member of the family…well, _nearly _as much a member of the family as Pim was, only lacking the Diffy and Speckle blood that ran through Phil and Pim's veins.

"I'm not sure it's that wise to invite Keely still," said Lloyd, appearing in the garage. "I mean, yanking her out of this time..there'll be police investigation, and all kinds of problems we're better off without."

"If only we could come back," Phil said. "You know…go there, come back, go there, come back…"

"I told you, son. Once we arrive back in 2121, we'll be staying there permanently."

"I know. And I cannot leave without Keely."

"What'cha going do?" Pim asked. "Force her to come with us if she says no?"

"She won't say no," Phil said. "The future will shock her. But she knows enough about it that I'm sure she'd like to find out more. And the worst thing anyone can do is keep two friends a century apart."

"It happens," Pim said.

"And that is why it is usually not recommended to remain in the past," said Lloyd. "We've been here too long. And as soon as we start the time machine up again, we're gone for good."

"Then I need to convince her," Phil said.

"Find her first, bro," Pim said. "I'm going to go give a Jack-o'-lantern an evil grin while you work on locating your twenty-first century girlfriend."

She sashayed out of the room while Phil grabbed a cordless phone and began dialing the school's number. He had to speak to four people before Keely's guidance counselor came on.

"Keely went home sick today," the counselor said.

"Sick?" Phil said. "She was fine this morning…"

"You know how you teenagers sometimes get struck with fever of a sudden," said the counselor, as if she suspected many students of foul play. There was a click and she was off.

Phil stared down at the phone in disgust, wanting to smash it into a million pieces.

"If she's not at school," Phil said to himself, "she must be someplace else."

He dialed Keely's number but only received a busy signal. After doing this three more times, he was forced to give up on that front.

"Try calling her home number," Pim said, reentering the garage.

"Already ahead of you, sis," Phil said, as the phone rang in his ear.

"Hello?""

"Er…is this Keely's mom?"

"Sure am. Is that you, Phil?"

"Yeah. Could you possibly tell me where Keely is? I know she isn't at school."

"No, she isn't there. Or anywhere, to be precise. Keely is gone."

"What do you mean?" Phil asked, clutching the phone for dear life.

"I'm sorry, Phil," Keely's mother said. "Keely is dead."

Phil stared at his phone, as though numb.

"Let me check the Gigolo. Her mother seems convinced that she's dead. But that's impossible, isn't it

The picture on the screen was of a brunette reporter, with a coffin behind her. "This news is to report that Pickford's own Keely Teslow has this day committed suicide, having swallowed laudunum she placed in her ice ceream float…"

"Noooooooooooooooo!" Phil wailed.

"Phil,. What's wrong? You were screaming like the time you had your leg bit off by that holoigraphic hyena at Savannah World."

"I'm sorry, Pim. Sorry that the fact that my best friend in the entire universe just killed herself. And the world will never hear iof Kely Teslow again."

"Keely did herself in?" Pim asked. "Thee only person in the world I'd have believed less likely to do that was Debby Berwick, at least until she turned out to be a maniac robot bent on world destruction."

"This is unreal," Phil said, tears streaking down his face. "Keely…"

"Hey guys. Your mother is out like a light. Going there and coming back and all that," Lloyd said, chuckling. Then he saw his son's face. "What happened here?"

"Keely's offed herself," Pim said, pointing to the Gigolo Phil still held in his hand. "Who knew my brother's first real girlfriend would commit suicide? Though it is Phil…"

"Keely did _what _now?" Lloyd asked, bewildered. "That doesn't sound like something she'd do."

"Well, the Gigolo doesn't lie," Phil said, face wet and red.

"Hold on a sec," Lloyd said, examining an area of the RV with his wizard. After half a minute he stepped back, puzzled. Then he walked over to another section and continued investigating, after which he turned to smile at his son.

"Oh wait. We took a wrong turn around 2033, and ended up in the time where you didn't go back to say farewell to Keely. Which means we've got to re-route in order to find her."

"So…we can stop her before she commits suicide?"

"Phil, if we were in the proper zone, she wouldn't have killed herself at all. This is what happened when Keely thought you abandoned her without giving her enough time to come see you. I can show you with the screen dimension but I already set it for the proper time, so…"

"I just want to be there for Keely," Phil said.

"And you will be. She only did this in the particular timeline we stumbled in. Let's get back to straight time, and everything will be peachy clean."

"I have a feeling Dad won't feel settled till we're back in our correct year," Pim said.

"Year?" Lloyd said. "Oh gosh, I just thought of something. We've spent over two years in this century, which means that we really ought to be going back to 2023, since you two will noticeably have skipped 481 days of your life from the future perspective."

"You could always modify our ages with the New Ager," Phil said. "Though I doubt there'll be too many inquiries beyond what we'll already be asked about."

"Yeah, that might be so. Anyhow, let's hurdle back into the time machine before your mother wakes up."

"I'm awake now, Lloyd," Barbara said, yawning. "Is something going on?"

"Er….Keely was found bleeding from cuts she dug into her skin because Phil didn't allow her time to say adieu to him."

Phil knew why his father had fabricated this tale of cutting over mentioning the suicide. Barbara Diffy couldn't abide the thought of anyone killing themselves. She wasn't too fond of teenagers cutting themselves to remedy emotional pain, but she could see that as a safe alternative to the very, very deprative meandering that was suicide.

"That's silly, Lloyd. Phil did say goodbye to her. That's what we came back for the first time. Remember?"

"Unfortunately," Lloyd said, "we ended up in a side timeline where that never happened. Which is why we've got to get back in the time machine pronto."

"All right, but I hope you know where we're going to land."

Curtis stuck his head out. "Is Keely coming to live with us in 2121?"

"We still have yet to find out," Lloyd said. He gave Phil a glance. "But we certainly hope so."

They all clambered back into the RV, and Lloyd started gathering the material for movement, putting the chromofactor in its orbitory zone, which was the only way to escape a side timeline, and moving some levers across to different positions. The time machine jerked back and forth and then ricocheted off to a more stabilizing timeline…


End file.
